Snoring is a sleep disorder that can range from mild to severe in humans. Mild cases may result in no more than fitful sleep by the sufferer, while severe cases at the minimum cause disturbance of the sleep of others, and may result in insufficient inhalation of oxygen by the sufferer, apnea and, in extreme cases, death.
Many attempts have been made to devise remedies to alleviate the symptoms of snoring, ranging from surgery to a variety of medicaments. Although surgery has been proven to be somewhat effective, it is a radical and expensive approach that is subject to all the usual risks associated with surgery. There are a few effective drugs available for the treatment of the symptoms of snoring, but these are typically available only by way of prescription. There is therefore a need for an inexpensive non-prescription anti-snoring composition that is safe and effective. This need is fulfilled by the present invention, which is summarized and described in detail below.
The invention comprises an anti-snoring composition made up of an aqueous ethanolic solution of seven active homeopathic ingredients, namely (i) Belladonna, (ii) Ephedra vulgaris, (iii) Histamine hydrochloride, (iv) Hydrastis canadensis, (v) Potassium dichromate, (vi) Nux vomica and (vii) Teucrim marum. 
According to the present invention the composition is made by combining equal parts by weight of eight aqueous ethanolic solutions of the aforementioned seven active homeopathic ingredients. Each ingredient is diluted in accordance with conventional homeopathic formulation procedures using an aqueous solution containing 20 vol % of 95 vol % ethanol.
Active ingredients (iii) (Histamine hydrochloride) and (v) (Potassium dichromate) are organic and inorganic chemicals, respectively, and are commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel, Inc. of Santa Rosa, Calif. The remainder of the active ingredients are all derived from plants as follows: (i) Belladonnaxe2x80x94an alkaloid extracted from the entire plant from roots to flower of Deadly Nightshade plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (ii) Ephedra vulgarisxe2x80x94a decongestant extracted from the stems and branches of the Ma huang or Mormon tea plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (iv) Hydrastis canadensisxe2x80x94the active ingredient comprises three isoquinoline alkaloids extracted from the air-dried rhizome and roots of the herb Golden seal, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (vi) Nux vomicaxe2x80x94the active ingredient extracted from coarsely powdered seeds of the Poison nut or Quaker buttons plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; and (vii) Teucrim marumxe2x80x94the active ingredient extracted from the entire plant Cat thyme, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel.
In a preferred formulation, most of the active ingredients are diluted 6xc3x97 in accordance with the standard homeopathic dilution procedures, with one of the ingredients being diluted 12xc3x97 and one diluted both 4xc3x97 and 6xc3x97. By xe2x80x9cstandard homeopathic dilution proceduresxe2x80x9d is meant that a dilution of 1=1 part by weight active to 9 parts by weight diluent or, in other words, a 10 wt % solution; a 2xc3x97 dilution=1 part by weight of a 1xc3x97 solution to 9 parts by weight of diluent dilution, or a 1 wt % solution; a 3xc3x97 dilution=1 part by weight of a 2xc3x97 solution to 9 parts by weight of diluent, or a 0.1 wt % solution; and so on. All dilutions may vary with a tolerance of xc2x110%, preferably xc2x12%.
Ingredients (i)-(ii) and (iv)-(vii) are preferably diluted 6xc3x97, while ingredient (iii) is preferably diluted 12xc3x97. In addition to the 6xc3x97 dilution, ingredient (vi) is also preferably diluted 4xc3x97. The solutions of actives may form from about 75 to about 95 wt % of the composition, preferably about 90 wt %. A carrier liquid such as glycerin or other compatible adjuvant may be included in the composition from about 5 to about 15 wt %, preferably about 10 wt %. A preservative may be present in a relatively small amount, say from about 0.05 to about 1 wt %, preferably 0.1 wt %; a preferred preservative is potassium sorbate.
While the composition may be formulated into a wide variety of administration forms such as drops or sprays, the most preferred form is throat spray, as this form has been shown to be effective at quick adsorption into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat passageways. The following example demonstrates how to formulate an exemplary embodiment of the invention.